Renault duo wait on rules outcome.

One week after the FIA issued its own set of proposals to help chivvy along the disparate group of team owner towards a new set of regulations for 2005 and beyond, Renault drivers Jarno Trulli and Fernando Alonso admitted that they would be monitoring the outcome with some interest.

Trulli, as a principal member of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association, has always maintained that something needed to be done to curb increasing speeds and, following his massive accident at Silverstone two weekends ago, improve the safety of the drivers. However, he refused to be drawn on whether the ideas put forward by FIA president Max Mosley would solve all of the sport's 'problems'.

"As drivers, we raised the problem that the cars will soon become too fast, and the FIA and the teams have responded," the Italian commented, "But this is not the time to be complaining about changes - we have to wait and see until we drive them. Then we can see if we have gone in the right direction. As racing drivers, though, we will always deal with the car we have."

Among the proposals, it has been suggested that F1 move to smaller capacity engines, thereby reducing speeds, but insiders have claimed that will damage the 'essence' of the sport.

"I don't think it will change anything for the drivers," Alonso admitted, "We will still be on the limit, driving to the maximum of the car. But, even so, speeds must not come down too far. We want a safe Formula One, but also an exciting show."

The proposed changes are intended to reduce downforce by around 25 per cent, and the Spaniard reckons that that could help liven up the show.

"Lower levels of downforce will make the car more difficult to drive, because there will be less grip," he explained, "That means the chances of making a mistake, or going off the circuit, are higher."

"We will be going slower, but I don't think the car will feel much different," Trulli agreed, "However, we expect to be carrying heavier fuel loads, which will mean longer braking distances, and that may help overtaking."

With proposals to alter the number of tyres permitted to each driver, the nature of a grand prix is likely to undergo some changes and, rather than the series of short sprints seen in the past two years, races could feature fewer pit-stops. To an aggressive driver like Alonso, this is one prospect that holds less appeal.

"For me, personally, it is better to always push," he insisted, "I prefer an attacking style of racing to something more conservative. I think the fans watching on TV enjoy pit-stops, and like seeing the whole team working to change tyres and fuel the car in just four or five seconds. We cannot lose all of that, because it would lose what the fans find exciting. But as I said earlier, we will be pushing hard whatever the situation - our job will still be to find the limit and stay there."